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Open Imaging Index
MRI Brain

Neurocognitive Aging ME-fMRI (ds003592)

Neurocognitive aging data release with behavioral, structural and multi-echo functional MRI measures

3T brain MRI of 301 healthy adults from Ithaca and Toronto, 181 aged 18 to 34 and 120 aged 60 to 89, with T1w, two multi-echo resting-state fMRI runs and T2-FLAIR in most, plus cognitive and personality scores, in BIDS under CC0.

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Overview

This release comes from a two-site cross-sectional study of cognitive aging led by R. Nathan Spreng and Gary Turner. Healthy younger and older adults were tested on a large battery of cognitive, socioemotional and personality measures and then scanned with structural MRI and multi-echo resting-state fMRI. The imaging data sit on OpenNeuro as ds003592 under CC0, and demographic and behavioral scores are on OSF (osf.io/yhzxe). The study suits work on age differences in brain networks, multi-echo denoising, brain-behavior associations and white matter hyperintensities in older adults.

Composition

301 participants passed quality control: 181 younger adults aged 18 to 34 and 120 older adults aged 60 to 89. 238 were scanned at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, and 63 at York University in Toronto. Every participant has a T1-weighted MPRAGE and two 10-minute multi-echo resting-state runs on separate sessions. T2-FLAIR is present for 251 participants in the current snapshot. Pulse and respiration recordings exist for a subset scanned at Cornell. 283 participants completed the in-lab NIH Toolbox and auxiliary cognitive tests, and 253 completed the online questionnaires.

Acquisition

Cornell used a 3T GE Discovery MR750 and York a 3T Siemens TimTrio, both with 32-channel head coils. Resting-state runs are three-echo EPI with TR 3 s and about 3 mm voxels; T1w images are 1 mm isotropic. FLAIR slices are 3 mm thick. Structural images were defaced. Data are organized in BIDS.

Annotations

There are no image labels. The paper reports FreeSurfer volumes, white matter hyperintensity estimates from the LST lesion prediction algorithm for 105 older adults and fMRI quality metrics as technical validation, but these derivatives are not part of the OpenNeuro release.

Known limitations

  • Participants were screened for health and cognition and all are right-handed, so the sample is not population-based.
  • Sources disagree on the FLAIR count: 258 in the paper, 246 in the OpenNeuro README and 251 subjects with FLAIR files.
  • Each site used one scanner from a different vendor, so site and vendor effects are confounded.
  • Twelve FLAIR scans and one resting-state run have a non-standard number of slices or volumes, flagged in participants.tsv.
  • Some participants also appear in the earlier OpenNeuro dataset ds000210.
  • A 2024 author correction fixed descriptive statistics for one cognitive test (Trails B minus A).

Cohort

Aggregate numbers from the sources below. Bars are relative to the 301 subjects.

Sex

  • Female 169 56%
  • Male 132 44%

Age

ยท range 18 to 89
0
50
100
150
181
18-3460-89

Age by sex

Reported cross table. Missing cells were not published (fewer than 10 subjects or not reported).

Female Male
  • 66
    60-89
    54
  • 103
    18-34
    78

Contrast combinations

How many subjects have exactly each set of contrasts.

T1wFLAIRboldSubjects with exactly this set
251
50

Contrast / sequence

subjects, values can overlap

  • T1-weighted 301 100%
  • BOLD fMRI 301 100%
  • FLAIR 251 83%

Condition

subjects, values can overlap

  • Healthy control 301 100%

Scanner vendor

subjects

  • GE HealthCare 238 79%
  • Siemens Healthineers 63 21%

Field strength

subjects

  • 3 T 301 100%

Country

subjects

  • United States 238 79%
  • Canada 63 21%

License and access

Our reading of the license, not legal advice. Before you use the data, read the original license and confirm that your use is allowed. We take no responsibility for how you use a dataset. Full disclaimer

Access
Open download

Download without an account

Access page

Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal

Public domain dedication. Do anything with the data, including commercial use, without asking and without having to give credit.

dataset_description.json of snapshot 1.0.13 states "License" CC0, and the data descriptor states that all data are shared under CC0. The behavioral data on OSF (osf.io/yhzxe) are covered by the same statement.

Original license text Version read: 1.0 Checked 2026-10-07

What you can do

  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes

What you can share

  • Yes
  • Yes
  • Yes

What you must do

  • No
  • Share alike No
  • No
  • No
  • Manuscript review No
  • Release code No
  • Return results No
  • Delete after use No

Limits

  • No
  • Location limits No

Citation

Spreng RN, Setton R, Alter U, et al. Neurocognitive aging data release with behavioral, structural and multi-echo functional MRI measures. Scientific Data 9, 119 (2022). doi:10.1038/s41597-022-01231-7

All numbers

Every number on this page, as stored in stats.csv, with its source.

MeasureBreakdownValueSource
Subjectstotal
the README of snapshot 1.0.13 and participants.tsv also list 301
301spreng2022
Methods: Participants
Studiestotal
two resting-state sessions per subject
602ds003592-file-tree
ses-1 and ses-2 folders
Subjectsage=18-34
younger adults
181spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectsage=60-89
older adults
120spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US
Cornell, Ithaca NY
238spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA
York University, Toronto
63spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectsvendor=ge
GE Discovery MR750 at Cornell
238spreng2022
Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging
Subjectsvendor=siemens
Siemens TimTrio at York University
63spreng2022
Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging
Subjectsfield_strength=3 301spreng2022
Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging
Subjectscondition=healthy 301spreng2022
Methods: Participants
Subjectssex=female
sum of the four disjoint site by age group cells; participants.tsv lists 168 F, 132 M and 1 n/a
169spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectssex=male
sum of the four disjoint site by age group cells
132spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectssex=female;age=18-34
sum of Cornell and York
103spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectssex=male;age=18-34
sum of Cornell and York
78spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectssex=female;age=60-89
sum of Cornell and York
66spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectssex=male;age=60-89
sum of Cornell and York
54spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;age=18-34 154spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;age=60-89 84spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;age=18-34 27spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;age=60-89 36spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;sex=female
sum of both age groups
133spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;sex=male
sum of both age groups
105spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;sex=female
sum of both age groups
36spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;sex=male
sum of both age groups
27spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;sex=female;age=18-34 86spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;sex=male;age=18-34 68spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;sex=female;age=60-89 47spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=US;sex=male;age=60-89 37spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;sex=female;age=18-34 17spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;sex=male;age=18-34 10spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;sex=female;age=60-89 19spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscountry=CA;sex=male;age=60-89 17spreng2022
Table 1
Subjectscontrast=T1w 301ds003592-file-tree
anat/*_T1w.nii.gz
Subjectscontrast=bold
all subjects have two multi-echo resting-state runs (spreng2022 Methods)
301ds003592-file-tree
func/*_bold.nii.gz
Subjectscontrast=FLAIR
the paper reports 258 (110 older, 148 younger) and the OpenNeuro README 246
251ds003592-file-tree
anat/*_FLAIR.nii.gz
Subjectscontrast_set=bold+FLAIR+T1w 251ds003592-file-tree
Subjectscontrast_set=bold+T1w 50ds003592-file-tree
Subjectscontrast=FLAIR;age=18-34
age group from participants.tsv agegroup column
142ds003592-file-tree
Subjectscontrast=FLAIR;age=60-89
age group from participants.tsv agegroup column
109ds003592-file-tree
Median agetotal
the one top-coded value 89+ counted as 89
26ds003592-participants
age
Minimum agetotal 18spreng2022
Table 1
Maximum agetotal 89spreng2022
Table 1

Sources

The keys used in the table above.